Girl found in Hondo after Amber Alert issued

A 13-year-old DeWitt County girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert was found about noon Friday in Hondo.

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued the Amber Alert about 9:45 a.m. Friday.

The alert was canceled about noon when the teenager was found, said DeWitt County Sheriff Jode Zavesky.

She was taken from a friend's house in the Cuero area at 5 a.m. Friday by a 34-year-old man who was a family friend.

The man had dated the girl's mother at one time, but they parted ways when she learned he was a registered sex offender, the sheriff said.

After many attempts, Zavesky finally reached the man on his cellphone. The man told the sheriff the teenager had repeatedly called him Thursday evening asking him to pick her up. He said the girl was a family friend who was struggling at home, where she was offered little structure.

"I told him he had no right to her, that she was 13 years old, and with his history, he had to understand how things looked," Zavesky said.

Although the teenager lives with her mother, she has lived with the man and his wife in the past.

The man was taking her to his family home in Hondo, but she did not have her mother's permission to leave with him.

After his conversation with Zavesky, the man had his father deliver the teenager unharmed to the Medina County Sheriff's Office at the advice of his attorney.

DeWitt County Sheriff's Office deputies traveled to Hondo to pick up the teenager and bring her home.

The man was not immediately arrested, and the sheriff's department was considering what charges would be issued, if any, Zavesky said.